Michelle Plyem Kocin
- Mar 3, 2022

Common Finance Systems for Dioceses and Archdioceses

The Roman Catholic Church is organized into dioceses around the world. Dioceses ruled by an archbishop are commonly referred to as archdioceses. In the Washington, DC area, there are more than 655,000 Catholics, 139 parishes, and 92 Catholic schools under the The Archdiocese of Washington.

Complex structure

This structure means that diocesan finances are complex, and can involve dozens or hundreds of reporting entities including parishes, schools, and other diocesan organizations.

Here is an example of how a diocese might be organized in terms of reporting entities:

This complex structure means that things like reporting and viewing real-time data are difficult. This can lead to a lack of consistency and transparency throughout the diocese.

Common Finance Model

At Sylogist, we are seeing a growing trend toward standardization of accounting software to simplify tracking and reporting for dioceses and their entities.

Serenic Navigator by Sylogist, powered by Microsoft Business Central, offers an intuitive and easy to use solution for parish and school finance personnel via role-tailored profiles. This is called the "Common Finance Model". Serenic Navigator is deployed in the Microsoft Cloud, eliminating hardware, backup and upgrade headaches.

Key Benefits

Single system of record with real time data across the Diocese, parishes, schools and supporting operations
Cloud delivery for a lower IT burden and maintenance costs,
Cost effective licensing
Guaranteed security and reliability
Safeguards against outages due to natural disasters
Prescriptive implementation services
Core Financials + Deposit and Loan Management
Powered by Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, the Industry leading finance/business application platform